1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to service request apparatuses, service request methods, service request program products and computer-readable recording media, service providing apparatuses, service providing methods, and service providing program products and computer-readable recording media, and more particularly to a service request apparatus, a service request method, a service request program product and computer-readable recording medium, which include an application using a service provided by another apparatus connected through a network, and a service providing apparatus, a service providing method, a service providing program product and computer-readable recording medium, which can provide a service by using at least two types of communication methods to the service request apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, application software based on a network environment has been developed. As the application software, a Web service technology is included. The Web service is a technology for associating applications being distributed through the network with each other by using a standard Internet technology. By applying the Web service, it is possible to associate the applications with each other by exchanging data based on an XML (Extensible Markup Language) in accordance with a protocol called a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) on a protocol of a standard Internet such as an HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol), an FTP (File Transfer Protocol), an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), and a like. The data exchange is conducted between a Web service client for making a request using a SOAP message and a Web service provider for reading contents of the SOAP message and providing a predetermined function. In the following, referring to FIG. 1, a regular Web service system will be described.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration of a regular Web service system. The regular Web service system shown in FIG. 1 includes a Web service client apparatus (hereinafter, simply called a client apparatus) 1 for connecting to any of service providing apparatuses 22, 33, and 44, and for requesting a predetermined function by sending a SOAP message, and Web service providing apparatuses (hereinafter, simply called a service providing apparatuses) 22, 33, and 44 for reading a request by the SOAP message sent from the client apparatus 1, and for providing the predetermined function as a Web service.
Next, an information exchange between the client apparatus 1 and the service providing apparatuses 22, 33, and 44 in the regular Web service system in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 shows software configurations of the client apparatus 1 and the service providing apparatus 22 in FIG. 1. A client module is mounted to the client apparatus 1, a service providing module is mounted to the service providing apparatus 22, and also the service providing module is mounted to each of the service providing apparatus 33 and 44. By exchanging information among these modules through the network 3, the client apparatus 1 and the service providing apparatuses 22, 33, and 44 exchange information with each other. In this case, any network can be used such as a Local Area Network (LAN), the Intranet, the Internet, and a like, regardless of a wired or wireless network.
In the following, the information exchange between the client apparatus 1 and the service providing apparatus 22 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. When a call request is made from a Web service client application (hereinafter, called a WS client application) of the client apparatus 1 to a core module of the service providing apparatus 22, a Web service proxy (hereinafter, called a WS proxy) 201 converts a request sent from the WS client application 200 into a command formed in the XML, stores the command in a SOAP envelope to create a SOAP message, and sends the SOAP message to a Web service listener (hereinafter, called a WS listener) of the service providing apparatus 22 through the network 3. The WS listener 202 of the service providing apparatus 22 parses the SOAP message received from the WS proxy 201 of the client apparatus 1, and searches for a method of the core module 204 to call through a Web service. The WS listener 202 maps an execution result of the method of the core module 204 into a body of the SOAP message, and sends the SOAP message to the client apparatus 1. The WS proxy 201 of the client apparatus 1 receiving the SOAP message as a response, and sends contents (the execution result of the method of the core module 204) to the WS client application 200. By the above-described information exchange, information can be exchanged as the Web service between the client apparatus 1 and the service providing apparatus 22.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2004-46817 discloses a technology related to the above-described information exchange.
It should be noted that the above-described information exchange is not limited to a case between the client apparatus 1 and the service providing apparatus, and may be conducted inside the client apparatus 1.
However, even in a case of exchanging information inside an apparatus, the information is sent and received by the SOAP message as described above. Accordingly, there is a problem in that processes concerning a data conversion and communication are not effectively conducted.
Also, since the SOAP uses an HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) on a transport layer, in a point in that the SOAP passes through a firewall and realizes an RPC (Remote Procedure Call), the SOAP is superior to other distribution object technologies. However, the SOAP message is a text base in an XML format. Accordingly, in a case in that it is unnecessary to communicate through the firewall and the SOAP message is used to realize the RPC, the communication by using the SOAP message causes a large overhead amount and is degraded.